The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Vertically oriented book page with, in the lower left, a woman looking down and back at two children, all with light skin tones. Behind, to the right on pale pink and blue rocky outcroppings, climbs a white leopard printed with black spot clusters and turning, fangs bared as it looks toward the woman. Trees with finely detailed leaves sprout on the lower right and at the top of the rocky outcropping against a gold background.

A woman with two children, having abandoned her home, goes into the forest where she encounters a leopard, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night

c. 1560

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 15.6 x 10.2 cm (6 1/8 x 4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.200.b
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The woman is described as bad-tempered, quarrelsome, sharp-tongued, gossipy, and peevish.

Description

A woman described as ill-tempered and quarrelsome was beaten by her husband, so she fled with her children into the wilderness. A fearsome leopard approached them, hoping to carry the children away for a meal. Thinking quickly, the woman offered the leopard one of her children and half of her own body, stating that a lion has staked claim to the other half. Fearing rivalry with the lion, the leopard quickly fled.

The gold sky and arid landscape in shades of pink and blue derive from painting styles of northwestern Iran, but the woman’s dress is the tied blouse and wrapped skirt of India.
  • ?–1959
    Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD
    1959–1962?
    (Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA)
    1959?–1962
    (Bernard Brown Agency, Milwaukee, WI, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry)
    1962–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Samuel Miller Breckinridge Long (May 16, 1881–September 26, 1958) was an American diplomat and politician, who served in the administrations of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Long is largely remembered for his obstructionist role as the Assistant Secretary of State responsible for granting refugee visas during World War II. His interests included the collection of antiques, paintings and American ship models. He maintained a stable of Thoroughbred race horses and was a director of the Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, and he enjoyed fox hunting, fishing, and sailing.
  • Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 8, 2025).
    Animal Fables of Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 12-August 29, 2021).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 18, 2004-May 23, 2005).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 13, 2003-February 18, 2004).
  • {{cite web|title=A woman with two children, having abandoned her home, goes into the forest where she encounters a leopard, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.200.b